Help me choose my first DSLR please!

Hi all,

I am about to finally take the plunge and buy my first DSLR as I have finally had enough of my inadequate & very old Pansonic Lumix. I thought Yo Photographer would be a great place to get peoples opinions as this is where so much experimenting goes on. I have narrowed my search to either a Nikon or Canon and have an approximate budget of not more than about £500for body and lens. My main point of interest to photograph at the moment is my daughter, so it needs to take great photos both in and outdoors.

I also have a keen interest in macro photography but believe that would need a special type of lens? So may have to hold off that one. So I guess basically I'm looking for a great all rounder for a complete DSLR beginner.

thank you in advance for all you who can help and share your thoughts with me.

Vic

I just checked amazon.com and the best nikon you can get for that sum is the D5000. It's a good starter camera amd will leave you enough money for filters, a memory card and a bag. www.amazon.com

Two years ago I was in the same position as you. I opted for the Nikon D60 for the following reasons.

The D60 has an intuitive menu that features pictures to assist the user when choosing exposure compensation, metering and focussing which allows the user to see what sort of result can be achieved for a particular setting.

The feature for taking shots in Raw extends to the pre-programmed modes, ie 'Landscapes', 'Sport', Macro and the like, unlike the Canon cameras that I have used which converts the pre-programmed 'modes' to Jpeg.

Finally the price. I bought a kit from Jessops that consisted of the D60 body, memory card, a 18 - 55mm Nikkor wide angle lens and a Tamron 70 - 300mm Zoom lens. The Tamron has the facility to shoot macro. I paid £520 for the kit and I couldn't be more pleased with the quality of the camera, lenses and photographs that I have taken.

I hope that this helps.

Hi Vic, welcome to YOP.

What ever make you choose, both make wonderful cameras. If you can, pop along to a shop and try a few out to see how they handle/fit the hand and if you like the control layout. Most come with a kit zoom lens, you can always add a filter thread close up lens too, to get you started in macro photography. Then later start on the expensive road of lens collecting.

Hi Vic - welcome to YoP

Some great advice given above and I would like to second going into Jessops (or another other retailer that has them in stock) once you have your shortlist and ask them to let you handle the cameras, to get a feel for them. You'll instantly know which one you want

Both Nikon and Canon make excellent cameras, and you can't go wrong with any of the latest models... you just need to decide on a budget... and then stick to it - which is easier said than done

hiya, couple of weeks ago i got my first dslr, a Nikon D5000. im really happy with it, for me its easy to find out how things work on it and i as i get to know more things (about photography in general and settings and stuff on camera) im taking better pictures. i really like the swivel screen it has too. anyway i do recomend this camera because of price, its my first dlsr too and i think its great. but i agree go to the shops and have a look and feel at cameras as its the only way youll know what cam is right for you

Thank you all for your advice. I definately think my next step is to visit Jessops & get my hands on a few cameras. I'm hoping they might have a few grest deals in the new year sales which will help. Now thinking about buying the body & lens seperately as I hear many people find the regular kit lens quite frustrating after a little while.

I have found the kit lenses more than adequate for what I, as a keen amateur, need - and that is two years on. Buying the lenses separately will only increase the price.

I love the Nikon kit lens - it was one of the reasons I went with Nikon, because it's excellent for the money.